Geoff Muldaur And Amos Garrett - Live In Japan (1979 us, essential blues folk rock)

Amos Garrett certainly is one of the most accomplished guitar player working today and yet Amos Garrett is legendary but not famous. Should be, like Ry Cooder or Mark Knopfler but isn’t. Ask Stevie Wonder, Chet Atkins, or any of ten dozen players (Richard Thompson, Robbie Robertson, Bobby Womack, BB King) who know that guitar invention is the mother of rock, soul & blues. Amos plays better one-handed on an off-night than most guitar players put together. His friends say it’s always been that way. Early in his career, Anne Murray hired him to play on the sessions that produced Snowbird. Even more importantly, Ian and Sylvia Tyson asked him to play with The Great Speckled Bird, which (along with The Byrds) was one of the very first country rock groups that changed the direction of pop music. From there, Amos went to Woodstock and recorded and toured with Maria Muldaur, Paul Butterfield’s Better Days, and the entire Bearsville Records stable.

A growing reputation as a studio player persuaded him to make the move to California, where he recorded with more than 150 other artists, from Jesse Winchester to Stevie Wonder, from Emmylou Harris to Bonnie Raitt, and Todd Rundgren to Martin Mull. His reputation as a guitar hero continued to spread, and in Canada he began to build a real following as an exciting and reliable club entertainer. Amos now makes his home in the foothills of Turner Valley, Alberta, Canada and is rarely seen without the company of his veteran band, which he named the Eh? Team. Kelly Jay Fordham (keyboards), Brian Pollock (bass), and Thom Moon (drums) know every twist and turn of his playing, and they give him incredibly heartfelt support. The new interest in Garrett’s work is also a result of his own recordings. His long-term relationship with Stony Plain Records, based in Edmonton, Alberta, has so far, created seven remarkably different albums. 

Geoff Muldaur is one of the great voices and musical forces to emerge from the folk, blues and folk-rock scenes centered in Cambridge, MA and Woodstock, NY. During the 1960's and '70's, Geoff made a series of highly influential recordings as a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and the Paul Butterfield's Better Days group, as well as collaborations with then-wife Maria and other notables (Bonnie Raitt, Eric Von Schmidt, Jerry Garcia, etc.). He left the stage and recording world in the mid-1980's for a working sabbatical but continued, however, to hone his craft, albeit 'flying beneath radar'. He composed scores for film and television, and produced off-beat albums for the likes of Lenny Pickett and the Borneo Horns and the Richard Greene String Quartet. Geoff's his definitive recording of "Brazil" provided the seed for - and was featured in - Terry Gilliam's film of the same title.

With his magical voice and singular approach to American music in tact, Geoff is once again touring the world. He performs in concert halls, performance spaces, clubs and festivals througout the US, Canada, Japan and Europe. Geoff may be heard from time to time as a guest on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion and has been featured on a variety of National Public Radio shows, including Weekend Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and The World with Lisa Mullins.

1979 found Geoff Muldaur and Amos Garrett touring Japan, a live set  at Shinjuku Loft, Tokyo, was recorded and released as an album, simply called "Live in Japan" they were backed up by two local musicians Yoshifumi Okajima on Bass and Hiroshi Sato on Keyboards. They played a mixture of fingerstyle blues, jazz, and jugband tunes. 

Tracks
1. Sloppy Drunk (Trad. Arr. by Geoff Muldaur) - 4:51
2. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You (Andy Razaf, Don Redman) - 3:27
3. Fishin' Blues (Henry Thomas) - 3:27
4. Hong Kong Blues (Hoagy Carmichael) - 3:42
5. Small Town Talk (Bobby Charles, Rick Danko) - 6:29
6. Why Should I Love You (Geoff Muldaur) - 5:39
7. Minglewood Blues (Gus Cannon) - 3:43
8. Lazy Bones (Hoagy Carmichael) - 8:07
9. Honeysuckle Rose (Andy Razaf, Fats Waller) - 4:22
10.C.C.Rider (Geoff Muldaur) - 5:21

Personnel
*Geoff Muldaur - Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin, Piano
*Amos Garrett - Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin
*Yoshifumi Okajima - Bass
*Hiroshi Sato - Keyboards

Related Acts
1970  Great Speckled Bird - Great Speckled Bird (2007 Japan bonus track remaster)
1971  Pearls Before Swine - Beautiful Lies You Could Live In
1971  Happy And Artie Traum - Double Back (Korean remaster)
1973  Paul Butterfield's Better Days - It All Comes Back (Japan extra track edition)
1973  Paul Butterfield's Better Days - Live At Winterland Ballroom (2014 issue)

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Steve Tilston - An Acoustic Confusion (1971 uk, excellent acoustic folk rock, 2013 extra tracks edition)

"Lovingly remastered" is a phrase in danger of becoming a clich,, but in the case this re-release of Steve Tilston's first album, made in 1971, it is particularly apposite. Scenesof are based in Maine, USA, but they obviously share the unconditional admiration of these songs that Ian A. Anderson's Village Thing label displayed in pressing the original vinyl. And make no mistake, the ten songs of "Acoustic Confusion" (plus a couple of by-now obligatory "Previously Unreleased" studio demos from 1978) add up to what was probably described at the time as an extremely enjoyable listening experience. Still is!

Ranging from voice and guitar solos to all-systems-go harmonica, string bass, violin and extra guitar 'n' vocal pieces, "An Acoustic Confusion" shows surprising maturity in all three departments of our hero's chosen profession. The songs contain true poetic insight, the singing is assured and the guitar-playing, even then, is a source of wonder. As he hints at in the typically self deprecating insert-notes (worth the price of the album alone), time has not been kind to a couple of songs. "Peel Street" and "Rock and Roll Star" contain the kind of over-indulgence that twenty-nothings the world over are famous for, but there is compensation in spades. "Simplicity" could stand comfortably with his current work, while "Normandy Day" manages to absorb influences from Bob Dylan through to Nick Drake, distil them all and produce pure essence of Tilston.

As Steve's work has progressed, it has revealed successive layers of creativity, inventiveness and integrity. There is nothing on "An Acoustic Confusion" to cause embarrassment, and a great deal to be proud of. Wouldn't it be great if Scenesof were working on the difficult second album right now?

by Alan Rose 

Steve Tilston released a very nice and acclaimed s/sw album back in 1971 called "An acoustic Confusion". I especially liked the most melancholic romantism involved. I was very curious for his newer releases. Hearing this release was far above all expectations. I never expected a musician to gain so much in magic he already had, for magic is something unique which is rarely repeated or ever regained. This album not only is very exceptional, it even sound better or at least slightly matured comparing his debut album. 

It has reminiscences to Nick Drake, but even more likely you can compare it (-this is : the production and the arrangements, and the colour of the voice-) with the acoustic period of John Martyn, with the additional development of a wider range of guitar styles. "Tse Tse Fly Shuffle" as a guitar instrumental, contains finger picking from the same level as Bert Jansch during his Jack Orion period or Leon Kottke during his debut album. The album ends with an essential bonus track of 22 minutes, "Rhapsody", an interesting, beautifully composed and arranged Celtic folk suite, making this album even more recommended and a must to dig out.

Psych-Folk 

A letter from John Lennon to Steve Tilston in 1971, who actually received it 34 years later, inspired Hollywood screenwriters for the Danny Collins movie with Al Pacino in the main role.

Tracks
1. I Really Wanted You - 3:54
2. Simplicity - 3:43
3. Time Has Shown Me Your Face - 3:44
4. It's Not My Place To Fail - 3:59
5. Train Time - 3:33
6. Sleepy Time On Peel Street - 3:44
7. Prospect Of Love - 2:24
8. Green Toothed Gardener - 3:22
9. Normandy Day - 3:06
10.Rock & Roll Star - 4:50
11.The Price Of Life - 4:10
12.Show A Little Kindness - 5:00
13.Time Is Your Gaoler - 4:04
14.Here You Go Again - 3:20 
15.When I See Your Face Again - 2:45
All Music and Lyrics by Steve Tilston
Bonus tracks 11-12 demo recordings from 1978
Extra tracks 13-15 Live TV Perfomances from 1979

Musicians
*Steve Tilston - Guitar, Vocals
*Keith Warmington - Harmonica, Vocals
*John Turner - String Bass
*Pete Finch - Violin
*Dave Evans - Guitar, Vocals

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Jerry Corbitt And Charlie Daniels - Corbitt And Daniels Live II (1971 us, incredible southern blues rock, 2011 korean remaster)

Although these two LIve recordings released by Tiger Lily in 1976/77, the sessions took place in early seventies.  

The original band was Charlie, Jerry Corbitt, Billy Cox from Band of Gypsys and Jeffrey Meyer and Taz DiGregorio. That band did not stay together but about six months then it just dissolved. Then it was  Charlie,  Jeffrey, Taz and a guy named Earl Grigsby. The original Charlie Daniels Band still can be heard in a bootleg called Corbitt and Daniels, Live at Carnegie Hall. 

They opened in 1970 for Delaney and Bonnie and it was a showcase and they brought Atlantic Records and all of these companies came and basically they wanted Taz and Charlie and did not want anyone else, but they decided to stay all together. 

The first album was supposed to be called Corbitt and Daniels, but what had happened in Carnegie Hall, Delaney and Bonnie’s sound man,  recorded their show also and after the show something happened with Corbitt and he quit the band. Charlie was really very upset and they were supposed to go in and do an album called Corbitt and Daniels, the contracts had been signed and the money had been put up and Corbitt quit. Taz took Corbitt’s place on the first album. He sang half and Taz sang half and from the point on the band just kept working at it until they finally hit on it.

Tracks
1. Country Boy Blues (Jerry Corbitt) - 3:34
2. John Lee Walker (Charlie Daniels) - 4:33
3. Thirteenth Hour (Charlie Daniels) - 5:48
4. Stormy Monday (Part II) (Louis Armstrong) - 8:00
5. John Deere Tractor (Lawrence Hammond) - 3:50
6. The Pope And The Dope (Charlie Daniels) – 2:21
7. Pain (Charlie Daniels) - 3:53

Personnel
*Charlie Daniels – Fiddles, Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Jerry Corbitt - Rhythm Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
*Joe Roman - Keyboards
*Jeffrey Meyer - Drums
*Earl Grimsby - Bass Guitar
*Taz DiGregorio - Keyboards

1970  Jerry Corbitt And Charlie Daniels – Corbitt And Daniels Live I (2011 korean issue)

1969  Jerry Corbitt - Corbitt (2015 korean remaster)
1970  Charlie Daniels - Charlie Daniels
1972  Charlie Daniels - Te John Grease And Wolfman (2008 issue)
1973 Charlie Daniels - Uneasy Rider "Honey In The Rock"
1975  The Charlie Daniels Band - Nightrider
1967/69  The Youngbloods / Earth Music / Elephant Mountain (2014 Japan Blu Spec Edition)
1969  Elephant Mountain (Sundazed expanded and 2014 Japan Blu Spec Edition)
1970  The Youngbloods - Rock Festival
1971  Beautiful! Live In San Francisco (Sundazed edition)
1972  High On A Ridge Top (Sundazed remaster)

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Wooden Horse - Wooden Horse (1972 uk, charming harmony prog folk)

Issued in the UK in 1972 by York Records,which was a subsidiary of Decca Records,this is the debut album from Wooden Horse. 

Progressive Folk with a somewhat commercial edge in places making it a very accessible album overall. Beautifully constructed songs played out with feel and warmth. This group featured the engaging voice of Susan Traynor who went on to mid 70s Fox fame.

Tracks
1. Crazy Thoughts - 3:00
2. Wake Me In The Morning - 3:08
3. Trees (Malcolm Harrison, Dave Mateer) - 3:28
4. Nothern Beaches - 5:05
5. This Is A Song - 3:28
6. Broken Bottles - 3:46
7. Earthbound Train - 2:49
8. Gentle Mind - 3:02
9. Come Around - 3:31
10.Feel - 4:03
11.Letter - 3:31
13.Loving Man (Malcolm Harrison) - 3:16
All songs by Dave Mateer except where stated

The Wooden Horse
*Susan Traynor - Vocals
*Dave Mateer - Guitar, Vocals
*Malcolm Harrison - Guitar, Vocals
*Steve Marwood - Guitar
*Neil Brockbank - Bass
*Dave Young - Flute, Sax
*Bob Irwin - Drums

1973  Wooden Horse - Wooden Horse II

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Jerry Corbitt And Charlie Daniels – Corbitt And Daniels Live I (1971 us, amazing country southern rock with west coast aura and blues traces, 2011 korean issue)

Jerry has toured and performed concert venues world-wide and has appeared with such artists as Kenny Rogers, Waylon Jennings, Neil Diamond, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Charlie Daniels, Bonnie Raitt, Judy Collins, America, Jesse Colin Young, and many others. His performances have included many network television venues and specials.

Jerry has achieved chart and air-play success as a writer, artist, and independent producer. Among his most successful works are “Grizzly Bear” (written by Jerry) and “Get Together” with the Youngbloods, “Castles in the Air” b/w “Vincent” (Starry-Starry Night) with Don McLean, “Great Big Bunches of Love” with Charlie Daniels, and “Country Boy Blues” and “Snow Job” as a solo artist. 

His credits over the 30 years of his career involve works that have sold over 20 million records, tapes and CD’s. His recording and other projects include albums with Pete Seeger, Norton Buffalo, Charlie Daniels, Cypress Hill, Buffie St. Marie, Rooftop Singers, David Wiffen, Doug Kershaw, Charlie McCoy, Jesse Colin Young, Ramblin'Jack Elliot, The Greenbriar Boys, Joy of Cooking, Brad Bailey, Jennie Muldar, Peter Rowen, Sonny Terry and Brownie MaGee, Billy Cox, Bobby Scott, Bob Johnston, Harrison Calaway,  and projects with Michael James Jackson, Felix Pappalardi, and Robert Cullen, and many others.

His feature film credits include such memorable works as “Radio Flyer”, “Forrest Gump”, “Target”, Ernest Thompson’s “1969, “Pontiac Moon”, “Zabriskie Point”, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, “Jack the Bear”, “Bullworth”, “Millennium”, “The Dish”,  and the soundtrack albums for these films. His other works include many TV sound tracks, including “The Simpsons”, “Tour of Duty”,  “China Beach”, “In Living Color” and “Beverly Hills 90210”, as well as many documentary films, and numerous national television and radio commercials, including spots for General Motors, Levi Strauss, Pepsi, The Gap, Shell and Chevron. Jerry is currently providing music for the new Fox series "Lucky". 

Jerry was an A & R representative for Vanguard Records for 2+ years , and was later courted by Warner Bros. for an A & R position. He turned them down since he was in the process of going independent in his production. He did not want to tie himself to one label since, as an independent producer, he was able to do work for a number of different labels, and was contracted at the time to produce albums of such artists as Charlie Daniels and Don McLean and Janis Ian. Jerry has produced albums for most of the major record labels.

Jerry Corbitt died of lung cancer on March 8, 2014. He was 71...

Jerry Corbitt-Bio

Tracks
1. Great Big Bunches Of Love (Charlie Daniels) - 3:44
2. Sweet, Gentle Lovin' (Jerry Corbltt) - 3:40
3. Till You Come Back Home Again (Jessie Collin-Young) - 3:30
4. Thirteenth Hour (Charlie Daniels) - 5:28
5. Caldonia (Charlie Daniels) - 4:39
6. Stormy Monday (Part 1) (Louis Armstrong) - 10:06
7. Orange Blossom Special (Ervint Rouse) - 3:12
8. Thirty-Nine Miles From Mobile (Charlie Daniels) - 4:55

Musicians
*Charlie Daniels – Fiddles, Lead Guitar
*Jerry Corbitt - Rhythm Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
*Joe Roman - Keyboards
*Jeffrey Meyer - Drums
*Earl Grimsby - Bass Guitar
"And Friends"

1969  Jerry Corbitt - Corbitt (2015 korean remaster)

1970  Charlie Daniels - Charlie Daniels
1972  Charlie Daniels - Te John Grease And Wolfman (2008 issue)
1973 Charlie Daniels - Uneasy Rider "Honey In The Rock"
1975  The Charlie Daniels Band - Nightrider
1967/69  The Youngbloods / Earth Music / Elephant Mountain (2014 Japan Blu Spec Edition)
1969  Elephant Mountain (Sundazed expanded and 2014 Japan Blu Spec Edition)
1970  The Youngbloods - Rock Festival
1971  Beautiful! Live In San Francisco (Sundazed edition)
1972  High On A Ridge Top (Sundazed remaster)

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Kaleidoscope - Kaleidoscope (1969 puerto rico / dominican republic, rough garage psych)

The Puerto Rican band Kaleidoscope, who recorded their album in the Dominican Republic and saw it issued in a promotional run of two-hundred copies on Mexico’s Orfeon label. It’s gone on to become one of the sought after artifacts of the late 60s world-rock scene, with clean copies – when the surface – selling for upwards of $8,000.

Like many American '67-'68 psych-garage obscurities in its morose, frequently minor-keyed blend of ominous organ and fuzz guitars. Yet mucho eccentricity and spontaneity make it more interesting than many such relics. That organ really vibrates with a menace, sometimes like a distant cousin to the Doors, but with a more adolescent, untutored sensibility. Although the vocals (all in English) are often lovelorn laments, they drip with snarling attitude veering from don't-give-a-damn bluesiness to abject self-pity, mixing in a psychedelic sense of disorientation that sets the songs aside from the more conventional romantic lyrics of earlier mid-'60s garage bands.

by Richie Unterberger

Cover artwork was created by Bob Molidor an Austrian/German hippy who lived in Mexico that time and also released an album the same year titled "Hits Internacionales"  

Tracks
1. Hang Out - 2:15
2. Ps Come Back - 2:05
3. A Hole In My Life - 2:29
4. Let Me Try - 3:31
5. I Think It's All Right - 2:55
6. Colours - 2:30
7. Once Upon A Time There Was A World - 8:10
8. A New Man - 2:35
9. I'm Crazy - 3:30
10.I'm Here, He's Gone, She's Cryin' - 2:28
All songs by Kaleidoscope.

The Kaleidoscope
Rafael Cruz - Drums
Julio Arturo Fernández - Organ
Pedrín García - Guitar
Frank Tirado - Bass, Vocals
Orly Várzquez - Bass, Guitar, Vocals

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P.C.Kent - Upstairs Coming Down (1970 uk, elegant baroque prog smooth rock, 2015 korean remaster)

In spite of the name, these guys were apparently a full fledged band showcasing the talents of namesake singe/keyboardist Paul Kent, multi-instrumentalists David Richards and Gavin (Spencer) Watson, and drummer John Ward.  The four apparently met while attending school in London, somehow attracting the attention of RCA Victor.

Produced by Sandy Robertson, 1970's "P.C. Kent" featured all original material; Kent, Richards and Watson responsible for penning all eleven tracks.  Musically the set's quite an early-1970s timepiece, bouncing all over the musical spectrum.   As lead singer Kent had a likable and versatile voice, that displayed a bit more Cockney accent than normally encountered on Brit LPs.  That Brit sense of humor was best displayed on the wild 'drunk driving' ode 'One for the Road'.   In spite of the clumsy title 'Little Baby Won't You Please Come Home Honey Child Won't You Just Allow Me One More Chance, Please' started the set off on a commercial high note.

A killer melody and performance would have made this a dandy single.  Similarly, 'Sweet Suzie Brown Boots', 'I'm Hanging On' and 'After Dark' all had commercial potential.  Like any early-1970s outfit these guys also felt the need to show off their blues chops.  Judging by 'Please Please Time' and 'Blues Railway Field' the results were competent, though nowhere near as impressive as their pop moves.   Elsewhere the weird hybrid of English music hall and experimental sound collage moves on 'We Are the Police' would not have sounded out of place on The Beatles' "White Album".  (Kind of neat cover courtesy of  Tony Bond.  Obscure yet commercial and strange enough that this one should appeal to quite a few folks ...

Bad-Cat

Tracks
1. Little Baby Won't You Please Come Home Honey Child Won't You Just Allow Me One More Chance, Please (David Richards, Paul Kent, Gavin Watson) - 2:36
2. Sweet Suzie Brown Boots (Paul Kent) - 3:15
3. Broadened (Ιnstrumental) (David Richards, Gavin Watson) - 1:36
4. Please Please Time (Paul Kent) - 3:31
5. I'm Hanging On (Paul Kent) - 3:05
6. We Are the Police (David Richards, Paul Kent) - 5:07
7. Prelude To Brighton (Paul Kent) - 1:34
8. One for the Road (Paul Kent) - 2:03
9. Suzy (David Richards) - 3:37
10.After Dark (David Richards, Paul Kent) - 2:41
11.Blues Railway Field (Ιnstrumental) (David Richards, Gavin Watson) - 3:25
12.Plastic Wedding (David Richards, Paul Kent) - 4:20

Personnel
*Paul (P.C.) Kent - Vocals, Keyboards, Harpsichord
*Gavin Spencer Watson - Lead, Acoustic  Guitar, Bass, Vocals
*David Richards - Vocals, Keyboards, Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Harpsichord
*John Ward - Drums

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The Hot Dogs - Say What You Mean (1973 us, remarkable folk country silk rock, 2003 japan remaster)

The Hot Dogs featured the talents of Memphis-based musicians Greg Reding and Bill Rennie.  keyboardist/guitar player Reding had previously been a member of Village Sound, while singer/bass player Rennie had been in The Poor Little Rich Kids (he was known as Bill Renni).  Along with former Piccadilly Circus guitarist Jack Holder, in 1970 the pair started playing together under the moniker Silver.  The same year the trio went into Memphis' famed Ardent Studios to record some demos. The demos caught the attention of producer Terry Manning who brought in sessions drummer Prouty for backup.  Unfortunately Silver  fell apart before anything could come of it, with Reding and Rennie subsequently paying their bills as touring sidemen for Albert King. 

Back in Memphis, 1972 saw Reding and Rennie renew their relationship with producer Manning and with his support went into the Stax-affiliated Ardent Studios to record an album.  With backing from Holder, guitarist Robert Johnson, and Prouty, 1973's Manning-produced "Say What You Mean" was a surprisingly likeable set of British-influenced power pop.  With Reding and Rennie responsible for much of the material (Manning also contributed several tracks), these guys clearly had an affection for English-styled pop with more than a passing nod to the Fab Four.  In fact, imagine what Badfinger would have sounded like if they'd been from Memphis and you'd be in the right aural ballpark.

The title track 'Say What You Mean' was a gorgeous ballad with a haunting melody and some beautiful harmony vocals.  Even better were the stunning guitar solos (I'm guessing Holder and Johnson were the featured performers).  You had to wonder how this was overlooked as a single. Kicked along by a xylophone (?), 'Morning Rain' started out with a beguiling laidback tropical feel, before taking brief detours into Uriah Heep organ terrain, following by a Hammond B3 cocktail jazz interlude, and ending with a tasteful lead guitar (Terry manning?).  For some reason this one's always reminded me of an early Steely Dan track.  It would have slotted nicely on "Can't Buy a Thrill".

Shifting gears 'When I Come Home Again' displayed the group's proficiency in the country-rock department.  Nice melody with an incidiously catchy chorus be forewarned that  this one will stick in your head. Time Is All' started out as an acoustic ballad, but exploded into an outright rocker before returning to it's roots.  Not my favorite track, though the guitar solo was pretty hot.

'Another Smile' has a pretty melody and some wonderful harmony vocals from the pair.  Always liked the chiming twelve strings and the handclap percussion on this one. 'Thanks' was one of the track that reminded me of something out of the Badfinger catalog.  Pretty melody and a dazzling guitar solo made this one of the best songs on the album.  Great Rennie bass pattern to boot.

'Take the Time To Let Me Know' was another pretty ballad, but it didn't really go anywhere.  Once again the highlight came in the form of the tasty guitar solo. Manning's 'Feel Real Fine' offered up a weird mix of country and rock influences.  It was definitely weird and almost sounded like a "White Album" outtake. Kicked along by some acoustic slide guitar and harmonica, this was actually one of the catchiest numbers. 

Starting off as another country-tinged number the mandolin-propelled 'Let Me Look At the Sun' came as another major surprise.  Showcasing a fabulous melody and the album's best lead guitar, this was another lost single.  Following a pattern, 'Way To Get To You' opened up with spare acoustic guitars before bursting into a fuller rock arrangement.  Another pretty melody with glorious harmony vocals. 

'Lowdown' ended the album with another out-and-out rocker.  While the song was quite good (another killer guitar performance), on this one Reding and Rennie seemed somewhat uncomfortable singing in the high key.  This one was tapped at their third and final single. All hyperbole aside, this was one of those rare albums that actually seemed to get better the more often you listened to it.  

Bad-Cat

Tracks
1. Say What You Mean (Steve Smith, S.T. Smith) - 6:36
2. Morning Rain (Greg Reding, Bill Rennie, Terry Manning) - 4:50
3. When I Come Home Again (Steve Smith, S.T. Smith) - 2:25
4. Time Is All (Bill Rennie, Jack Holder, Terry Manning) - 3:33
5. Another Smile (Bill Rennie, Terry Manning) - 2:56
6. Thanks (Greg Reding, Bill Rennie) - 5:38
7. Take the Time To Let Me Know (Greg Reding, Jack Holder, Bill Rennie) - 3:35
8. Feel Real Fine (Terry Manning) - 2:59
9. Let Me Look At the Sun (Bill Rennie, Terry Manning) - 2:26
10.Way To Get To You (Greg Reding, Bill Rennie) - 2:24
11.Lowdown (Greg Reding, Bill Rennie, Terry Manning) - 3:41

The Hot Dogs
*Greg Reding - Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar
*Bill Rennie - Lead Vocals, Bass
Guests Musicians
*Jack Holder - Lead Guitar
*Steve Holt - Drums
*Robert Johnson - Lead Guitar
*Terry Manning - Lead Guitar
*Fred Prouty - Drums
*Richard Rosebrough - Drums
*Steve Smith - Keyboards

Related Acts
1970  Terry Manning - Home Sweet Home (2006 remaster)
1972  Cargoe - Cargoe (Japan remaster)

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Charlee - Charlee (1972 canada, sensational groovie hard rock)

Born Rossignuoli Rossi in Naples, Italy in 1948, Walter Rossi and his family moved to Montreal when he was a child, and grew up listening to his mother sing and admired his carpenter father's guitar playing in his spare time. Walter didn't pick up the guitar until after finishing grade school, but soon began spending endless hours on it, taking his first and only guitar lesson at the age of 15.

Barely a year later he began playing at two of the city's biggest R&B clubs with The Soul Mates - at The Grand National and the Esquire Show Bar, where he also saw some of his mentors playing, including King Curtis and TV Mama. The drummer of that band was Buddy Myles, taking a break from Wilson Pickett's touring schedule.

From the ensuing meeting, a week before his 19th birthday, he was auditioning for Pickett during a live show at Toronto's Massey Hall. He was hired as his new guitar player (making him the only white member of the band) after one song. At first he found it difficult to move to New York. His father didn't approve of it and he didn't have a green card, so he simply shipped his guitar to New York ahead of himself, and followed on a bus full of weekend tourists.

He spent nearly two years with Pickett's band before tiring of the road rigors. That, plus his father's failing health prompted Rossi to move back to Montreal, turning down offers to play with Little Richard and Janis Joplin in the process. He joined The Influence, moved to Toronto, and before long were opening for Steppenwolf and The Doors. They cut one self-titled album at Bell Studios in New York.

But when that band ran its course after a little more than a year, he moved back to New York and got reacquainted with Buddy Myles, joining The Buddy Myles Express. They recorded toured the college circuit and recorded one album, producing the hit "Them Changes" (later covered by Jimi Hendrix). But by 1971 he decided to strike it out on his own, moved back to Canada, settling in Toronto. Putting together the power trio Charlee, they were signed to RCA and they recorded an eponymous debut album, launched on CHOM FM. They sold 6,000 copies of the record from only one local record store in one week. "Lord Knows I've Won" was released as a single and got decent airplay at home and in pockets in the US (most notably Dayton, Ohio), but spent three weeks in the #1 spot in Australia.

Canadian-Bands

Tracks
1.Wizzard (Walter Rossi, Danny Ippersiel) - 3:29
2.Lord Knows I've Won (Walter Rossi, Danny Ippersiel) - 2:45
3.Just You and Me (Walter Rossi) - 3:32
4.A Way to Die (Walter Rossi, Danny Ippersiel) - 6:50
5.Let's Keep Silent (Walter Rossi, Danny Ippersiel) - 3:28
6.Wheel of Fortune Turning (Walter Rossi) - 6:32
7.It Isn't the First Time (Jack Geisinger) - 6:09
8.Let's Keep Silent (Walter Rossi, Danny Ippersiel) - 1:57

Personnel
*Walter Rossi - Guitar, Vocals
*Jack Geisinger - Bass
*Mike Driscoll - Drums, Percussion
*Barry Keane - Drums
*Harry Marks - Bass
*Mark Smith - Bass

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Fuse - Fuse (1969 us, terrific hard rock with prog touches, 2001 bonus tracks edition)

Fuse offers a fascinating glimpse into the musical beginnings of Rick Nielsen and Tom Petersson before superstardom beckoned as members of Cheap Trick, but it also stands on its own as a prime example of keyboard driven psychedelic pop, circa 1969.

Fuse was the predecessor of the famous 70's hard rock american band Cheap Trick, earlier called The Grim Reapers. As Fuse a solitary album was issued prior to guitarist Rick Nielsen and bassist Tom Petersson allying themselves with ex NAZZ members vocalist Robert 'Stewkey' Antoni and drummer Thom Mooney for a revised NAZZ.

Great tunes, my favorites being 4/4 3/4, Show Me and To Your Health. Rick Nielsen mainly plays Keyboards on this, but he does display some early signs of songwriting ability as in Show Me and To Your Health.

The singer was only 17 years old when this was released, what a strong voice for a kid!!! Tom Peterson has to be one of the most UNDERrated Bass players in popular rock.

Just listen to his tight, chunky-bass on this album, and he was only 19 years old! Each track is different, nothing seems repetitive. That is to say, the guitarist, keyboards everyone sounds different on each track. Do not expect to hear any "Cheap Trick sounding" material on this album. It is Hard-rock, a bit progressive, hard hitting music.

This is a very good album, played by a bunch of Rockford kids, and is highly recomended.

by J.D. Kammerer

Tracks
1. Across The Skies (Rick Nielsen, Joe Sundberg) - 4:35
2. Permanent Resident (Joe Sundberg, Craig Myers) - 4:24
3. Show Me (Rick Nielsen) - 4:17
4. To Your Health (Rick Nielsen) - 6:00
5. In A Window (Rick Nielsen, Joe Sundberg) - 5:54
6. 4/4 3/4 (Joe Sundberg, Craig Myers) - 4:2
7. Mystery Ship (Rick Nielsen) - 3:23
8. Sad Day (Rick Nielsen) - 5:49
9. Hound Dog (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) - 2:55
10.Cruisin' For Burgers (Joe Sundberg, Craig Myers) - 5:01

Fuse
*Rick Nielsen - Guitar, Keyboards
*Tom Petersson - Bass
*Joe Sundberg - Vocals
*Chip Greenman - Drums
*Craig Myers - Guitar

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